


More Important than the New Year

by Saradactyl



Category: Dangan Ronpa 3: The End of 希望ヶ峰学園 | The End of Kibougamine Gakuen | End of Hope's Peak High School, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Happy Birthday Hajime!, It's Subtle, Komaeda Nagito Being Komaeda Nagito, Komaeda Nagito's Luck Cycle, Literal Sleeping Together, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mental Health Issues, Tired Hinata Hajime, Trans Hinata Hajime, Trans Male Character, and a happy new year, i wrote this real quick, let him sleep
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:20:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28471539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Saradactyl/pseuds/Saradactyl
Summary: He paused, slowing down and giving Hinata a look of befuddlement. “Do you seriously not remember?”“What? Remember what?” Komaeda studied the man as Hinata tried to fit the pieces together. “...is it something important?”“More important than the new year, Hajime!”[Hinata is too worried about other things to realize that it was an important date today.]
Relationships: Hinata Hajime & Mioda Ibuki, Hinata Hajime/Komaeda Nagito
Comments: 20
Kudos: 158





	More Important than the New Year

**Author's Note:**

> Hinata deserves better than this,,  
> But as a major Hinata kinnie I couldn't not write something for his birthday

The breeze was slowly picking up day by day on the island, hinting that the change in seasons was approaching. Summer didn’t bother Hinata but when living on an isle that was commonly dry during the hotter months, he had come to favor the colder climate.

It was already the first day of the new year, the temperature only changing now. Of course, it was because of the way the Earth spun on its axis but it felt like time stopped on the island, as if staying here made one untouchable. 

Hinata laid under the safety of the palm trees bordering the beach, the sun peeking past the horizon to paint the sky in rosy hues. The longer he was there, the slower the wind blew; he felt his eyelids growing heavy while listening to the soft rustling of the fronds above him. The light reflected warm spots against the land and Hinata tucked his fingers into the sand, sapping the area of its heat. He didn’t know how long he was there for, it was just something he decided to do in the spur of the moment.

Waking up in the middle of the night was not unusual for anyone on the island and it eventually became something that they each got over, most nights being peaceful. Last night was not one of those nights, however, as Hinata woke up in a cold sweat, unaware of what shook him awake. The zephyr passing through the gap in his window tempted him, leading him to pull on his binder and slip on his shoes before strolling up to the beach to watch the waves as a means to calm himself down.

It worked a bit too well, his eyes fluttering shut as he shifted in a more comfortable position whilst draping an arm over his eyes. There was still time till everyone had to meet for their communal breakfast so it wouldn't hurt to close his eyes for a couple minutes.

His hand was still tucked away in the cooling sand and he would occasionally sift through the sediments, reminding himself that he was still by the seaside rather than in the comfort of his bed. His finger bumped into a larger piece of rock and he let it glide over the smooth stone before pulling it out.

Holding the object out in front of him, he realized it was a coned shell. It was an amber color, speckled with darker gold and flecks of white in an array circling around the cone. He didn’t need to pull out any ultimate talent to know that the shell was special, giving off a glimmer as if it knew how unique it was. 

Nimble footsteps approached him, the weight of each step telling Hinata all he needed to guess who it was. Komaeda was always quick to approach him whenever they had time to themselves. Hinata wouldn’t lie and say he wasn’t eager to be alone with him either as the island wasn’t the most private of places.

“Ah, you found the shell!” Komaeda beared a grin that was far too bright this early in the morning. 

_ ‘The’ shell?  _ As if he wanted Hinata to find this specific shell.

Not being able to conjure up a proper start to a conversation, he held the shell to the tall male who was hovering over him. Komaeda cocked his head to the side as he plucked the shell from his tan fingers, rolling it around in his palm. “It’s pretty," Hinata spoke. "You can keep it, if you want.”

Komaeda squatted down next to Hinata, his fingers dragging in the sand to hold himself upright. Just like him, Komaeda held the shell up in the light, admiring it for a moment, before dropping his hand so the shell laid over Hinata's chest in contrast.

"I think this would look best if it was a necklace around your neck." He left the shell on Hinata as he straightened his posture and gazed at the sunrise. "It's a beautiful morning."

"Hmm, that it is." Hinata tucked the shell into his pocket and got up himself, dusting his clothes off and walking towards Komaeda. “Why are you up so early?”

The breeze filled the silence for a moment, the occasional crunch of sand from their constant shifting. Komaeda's eyes traced the small curves of the waves, the ocean dosed with light spreading across the surface.

Komaeda turned back to Hinata, a content look on his face. "It's a beautiful morning," he repeated.

Hinata raised his brows at the response, rolling his eyes and started the path towards the sea. 

"I thought you were going to say something enlightening in return." Komaeda's long strides took him right next to Hinata as they headed to where the wet sand began.

"Too early for this nonsense, Nagito." He glanced at his partner who was busy taking in the view. He always seemed to have that small smile carved into his lips. "Did you come here to swim or just to toy with me?”

“I can’t swim with one hand,” he waved the stub of his left arm “,so I guess the latter.”

The plain white bandages wrapped around the end of his amputated arm taunted Hinata. They all had a few scars from during the Tragedy, physically and mentally, but he couldn’t imagine what was going through Komaeda’s head when he deliberately ridded himself of a limb. Sometimes, he was glad it was Kamukura Izuru who was awake during that era and not Hinata Hajime. He didn’t know if he would’ve been able to handle what went on during those times.

“Are you also here to admire the view?” Komaeda questioned while Hinata stared blankly at the horizon, the sun slowly climbing up and brushing faint streaks of gold over the water. 

“I mean, I didn’t intend to. But I guess I am now.”

Komaeda hummed, as if knowing just what Hinata’s process was. Hinata wouldn’t be surprised if he did. He tried not to be a terribly hard person to read but it was unfortunate Komaeda did not think the same way. He believed that maybe Komaeda liked being cryptic, or maybe it was just with him.

“I’ve been coming here for a couple mornings now,” Komaeda began. He started walking by the water, Hinata a few steps behind him. “It’s a nice place to clear your head. I think I’ll miss the beach once we have to leave, I’ve become used to it here.”

Hinata nodded, a gesture that Komaeda could not see. “But I guess nothing really lasts forever.”

He gave a few moments of silence for Komaeda to speak up but he didn’t. Taking his quietness as his feedback, he strode up next to him, mimicking Komaeda by stuffing his own hands in his pockets. 

“It’s not like we won’t be back here.” Hinata tried to give him a reassuring pat on the back, though it was more a hand on the back than a pat. “I mean...I’m sure if we requested to come back here for a vacation or something, they would let us.”

“Haven’t even started working and already thinking of a vacation?” Hinata glowered at Komaeda’s teasing grin.

“I will kick sand in your eyes.” A threat with no real bite. 

“Oh, don’t do  _ that _ .” He ruffled Hinata’s mess of hair and paused once they approached a mass of rocks, splitting the beach in half. “Well then…”

Holding out a hand, Komaeda’s smirk calmed into something more genuine. “Hinata-kun...would you like to come with me? Back to the cottage.”

Hinata blinked at the hand, gears whirring in his brain. He hoped the sun hadn’t risen enough that Komaeda could see the blood rush to his face but by the way his eyes widened ever so slightly, Hinata’s wishes were futile. 

“Back to… whose cottage?”

Komaeda’s hand shook slightly, debating whether or not to drop back to his side. “Does it matter? If you don’t want to, it’s fine. I just thought you looked a little fatigued.”

Subconsciously rubbing the dark circles under his heterochromic eyes, he let his hand fall into Komaeda’s palm, his pale hand twitching in shock before tightening its grip. The weight as Komaeda pulled his hand to his side brought Hinata closer, pulling him so they were shoulder to shoulder while they walked back to where their cottages stood.

It was times like these where he wondered if he was ever going to be able to relax again. Until he eased into Komaeda’s touch, he hadn’t even realized how tense he was, as if something was going to go wrong. He’s seen the photographs of the rest of the world. This island was basically heaven on Earth at the moment and who would ever make the decision of stepping off of it? The answer would be anyone who didn’t have the burden of being responsible for making it the only safe haven on Earth. How unfortunate Hinata didn’t fit that category. 

The sky had almost become blue, a reflection of the water below. Even with Komaeda being a couple pounds lighter, his boots left rather deep imprints in the wet sand compared to the trace of Hinata's sneakers. He lagged behind a bit, placing his feet in Komaeda's tracks, noting how much longer the man's feet were. He didn’t notice Komaeda glancing back at him, watching as Hinata teetered on his trail like a child avoiding the cracks on a sidewalk. 

The sand morphed into stone and, or some reason, the clinking of Komaeda’s chain was more prominent than the hissing wind. He already knew they would end up in Komaeda’s cottage rather than his own, they always ended up there when they needed to be alone. They would lie in each other's arms, attempting to escape an inescapable suffering because they both knew that not every hug was out of love but it was easier to imagine that it was.

Kicking off his shoes, Hinata made a beeline for the bed but with a quick shout from Komaeda to not ruin his bed, he dropped his jeans, as well. He fell onto the mattress and the exhaustion quickly overtook him, his eyes struggling to stay open. He felt heavy. Komaeda discarded his jeans and took over the other side of the bed, leaning into Hinata, his hand running down his spine.

“Take it off,” he mumbled, his finger stretching the bottom of Hinata’s binder. 

Hinata pushed his hand away, curling in on himself when Komaeda got up again. A baggy white tee-shirt landed on the bed a few moments later and Komaeda helped Hinata to sit upright whilst pulling both articles of clothing off of him. He didn’t know how far this took their level of intimacy, to be able to reveal scars that mirrors don’t reflect. With a body that he hated himself, Komaeda showed no signs of disgust as he examined his skin for any forming bruises, placing a feather-like kiss on a dark patch on his side too small to be caused by his binder.

They shared a pillow, aware that Hinata always slept with one close to his chest. Before, he would worry about how his breath would smell when he woke up or if he snored. Now, all that mattered was that Komaeda rested, too.

“Hey.”

Komaeda blinked slowly, the dim sun offering a warm, auburn glow to highlight his features. His eyes cleared up, focusing on Hinata. “Do you remember what today is?”

Hinata stared at Komaeda, his vision blurry as he whispered “the new year?” 

Even the way he chuckled sounded ethereal. “Yeah, that too.”

___

Hinata preferred waking up alone. Sometimes it was easier to collect himself after dreaming of things that he wasn’t meant to see. It wasn’t difficult to guess why he was shouting names of the dead but it was harder to explain why he had recurring dreams of those who were still alive.  _ They wouldn’t leave him _ , they would promise. It’s typical of people to make promises they have no control over when comforting someone but it was of no comfort to him.

It was surprising when he opened his eyes to see Komaeda missing but he supposed it wasn’t all that bad. The door to the bathroom creaked and that let Hinata know he wasn’t that far. 

Komaeda wearing something other than his green jacket was off-putting but it was a good difference. Buttoning up the last of his collared white shirt, he rummaged through the closet to pull out one similar to Hinata’s, though it was missing a pocket. 

“Come on,” Komaeda ushered, guiding Hinata to his feet as he handed him his clothes. “Everyone’s waiting. It’s way past the time I thought we would wake up.”

Hinata peered through the window and the sun had made its cycle across the sky, sinking lower. “Waiting...for what?”

Komaeda slipped Hinata’s tie around his neck, pulling him closer and tying it for him. “For you.”

Without a chance for an explanation, he was dragged out of the cottage and back towards the shore. “Wait, wait! Where are we going?”

“It’s pretty evident that we’re headed to the beach, Hajime.”

“Don’t mock me, I’m serious.”

He paused, slowing down and giving Hinata a look of befuddlement. “Do you seriously not remember?”

“What? Remember what?” Komaeda studied the man as Hinata tried to fit the pieces together. “...is it something important?”

“More important than the new year, Hajime!”

“There are a lot of things more important than the new year,” he spoke.

Approaching the beach, he could make out a foldable table set out under the palm trees, everyone gathered around and placed varied boxes around the table. They weren’t wrapped, seemingly containers and cardboard glued together to form the shape of a cube. As unappealing as it looked, everyone looked fairly happy with what they had sorted together. 

Mioda was first to notice their presence and alerted everyone out with a shout. “Yay, you finally made it! Now Ibuki can finally play the music.”

“Let’s wait a bit, Ibuki,” Koizumi said. She turned to both of them with her classic ‘hands on her hips’ stance. “What took you two so long?”

“We slept in a bit later than I thought,” Komaeda explained. “I apologize.”

It took very little for Hinata to realize Komaeda’s intentions of bringing him back to the cottages in the first place. He bumped shoulders with the taller male whose lips formed a knowing grin. He rummaged through his pockets before pulling out the shell Hinata had discovered earlier, a white piece of twine stuck through it. 

Hinata leaned forward as Komaeda clasped the ends at the nape of his neck, the weight of the conch laying heavy on his chest. He pressed his lips to the man’s forehead and stepped back to admire the way the shell suited Hinata’s air. “Do you remember now?”

His stare was bovine. He felt stupid. “Yeah...yeah, I do.”

Worrying about what he’s done and what was to come consumed him. It was hard to stay in the moment, things like these became insignificant. He really didn’t want it to feel this way.

Mioda quickly swooped in and grabbed Hinata by the arm before his emotions overtook him. “Ah, don’t cry on your birthday. It’s supposed to be a happy day, right?” She spun him around and led him to the table where everyone stood silently, waiting for his jurisdiction.

She smiled, humming the tune to ‘Happy Birthday’, handing him the knife lying idly on the table. Hinata hesitantly gripped the handle, keeping his gaze on the small cake, frosted a plain white with his name written in green. Teruteru explained how there wasn’t much to work with but Hinata was trying to blink back the burning sensation buzzing at the corner of his eyes. 

He was part of the reason this is what they had to resort to. “You guys really didn’t have to. Not that I’m not thankful but we haven’t done anything for any of you so I’m not any different in that circum--”

“You’re starting to sound like Nagito,” Koizumi remarked. “You’ve been around him too much.”

Komaeda said nothing to combat her, only smiling when Hinata looked back at him. 

“AHH, no more sappy stuff!” Mioda grinned, pushing his hand down so it left a sliver in the frosting, stopping him from his rant. “Come, we want cake!”

  
___

The drastic change in temperature once night approached ushered most of the group back to the cottages. Waves crashed closer to land, leading Hinata and Komaeda to tuck themselves under the trees, ending the day as they started it. 

Fingers toyed with the shell dangling from the thin string around Hinata’s neck, occasionally curling the string and pulling, pushing Hinata to move closer. He heard something clink 

“Do you know what type of shell this is, Hajime?”

Komaeda felt Hinata shake his head. “I didn’t bother to look it up. Should I have?”

His nail scraped the edge on the conch, familiar with its shape and style. Finding one as a child while swimming in the ocean, he knew it was a conus gloriamaris and it sold quite well on the market. It was not a common cone, quite the opposite, and it was quite lucky for Hinata to find one himself. 

Komaeda had almost drowned that day, recalling his poor health pulling him under the surface of the water. It took awhile for anyone to find him but once they did, the shell washed up on the shore besides him. He was attracted to the way the light reflected off its surface but after finding out about its worth, he decided to bury it back in the sand for someone else to find.

“Glory of the sea.”

Hinata glanced down at his boyfriend, combing his fingers through his hair. “That’s what it means?”

Komaeda nodded. “Yeah.”

He heard something clink inside of the hollow interior of the shell and peered at Komaeda as he shook the shell again.

“It’s days like these where I’m glad I got to live this long. I would be okay with dying like this.”

Hinata sighed. “Nagito…”

“In your arms, I mean.” He pushed himself up to get a better look at Hinata. “I would be alright with dying right now, knowing I’ve made it so my death won’t be meaningless.”

“How have you done that?”

Komaeda placed a hand over where Hinata’s laid on his head. “Well, would you say I’ve imprinted myself on you?”

Hinata shuffled so he sat up and against the spine of the trunk. “I guess... I think about you all the time.”

Komaeda flushed slightly but he was much better at keeping his composure than Hinata was. He fiddled with the shell a bit more before sitting up. 

“Do you think you’re strong enough to crack this shell open?”

“What?” Hinata clutched the shell, now a little more concerned about the mollusk. “Why?”

“Please?”

Biting his lip, Hinata looked down at the dead snail’s invertebrate, sticking his thumb in the opening. Forcing his finger down, the cone resisted a bit before there was a crack. As strong as he was, the shell left a red line over the tip of his thumb. It felt odd to be breaking a dead crustacean’s shell but he realized the reason for it when something fell out of it once it completely tore apart.

Hinata picked up a golden band from the mess of the ruptured conch, looking between it and Komaeda. “Aha, wait…”

Komaeda motioned for Hinata to hand him the ring and he did so, hesitantly placing the loop in the center of his palm. He took Hinata’s hand with his free hand, staring at the ring and building up the courage to finally speak.

He never got the chance to when Hinata grabbed him and wrapped his arms around his neck. The ring lay forgotten in the sand for a while, just as Hinata’s worries had.

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't even finish this fic!!
> 
> The shell Komaeda found was a conus gloriamaris which is the rarest shell in the world. Just his luck...and he made Hinata snap it in half for a proposal! Genius...
> 
> This would've gone very angsty because it was originally a vent fic but I finished it up so it fit for the man's day of birth. And I didn't reread it so I'll come back to this later. Possibly. Maybe.
> 
> 2020 was really nothing we saw coming so let's hope that 2021 has something better for us to experience!


End file.
